NEW JERSEY STRINGING UP DEAD BIRDS TO GET RID OF BUZZARDS

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. 
The dead vulture’s feathers snap and crack, breaking apart as its frozen wings are spread for one last flight.

It will soon soar gracefully — albeit briefly — into a tree in this hilly New Jersey suburb, hoisted to a branch where it will hang, upside down, until spring.

Wildlife officials say it’s a surefire way to get an estimated 100 black and turkey vultures from roosting in the neighborhood, leaving behind foul-smelling and acidic droppings on roofs and lawns, creeping out residents and even their pets.

On a cool, gray Monday morning, neighborhood residents watched as wildlife specialist Terri Ombrello launched a weighted fishing line over a branch with a slingshot. She took turns with partner Nicole Rein tying the bird’s legs with another line then pulled the bird about 30 feet off the ground.

Vultures may like to eat roadkill, but it turns out they don’t like the sight of their own dead upside down.

“They don’t like seeing their own in that unnatural position,” Rein said.

Bridgewater became at least the seventh New Jersey community this winter to turn to the wildlife services unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for buzzard-beating help.